On the Lentil. There are two kinds: one is round and rather dark,
while the other, from its shape tending toward the name of dwarf lentil,
is considered of cold and dry nature. The outside relaxes the belly; the
inside constricts. It is digested wit difficult, generates black bile and
creates scaly skin disease, causes flatulence and a stuffed feeling, harms
the brain and chest, dulls the eyes, and represses passion. Its harm can
be corrected this way: throw away the first cooking water, and add vinegar
and spices to the second. It will even be healthful to mix soft barley
meal in the pot so that it may give more and better nourishment. (Milham,
313)

Modern recipe: Barley & Lentils

The Barley

For 160:

5/8 quart olive oil

1 2/3 quarts onion, chopped

13 1/3 cloves garlic, minced

3 1/3 quarts barley, pearled

1 2/3 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

2 1/8 gallons vegetable stock

1 1/8 tablespoon salt

For 8:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup barley, pearled

1 dash freshly ground pepper

5/8 quart vegetable stock

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add the oil to a deep, oven-proof
pan heated to high and fry the onions and garlic until very lightly browned.
Add barley and pepper and stir until coated. Add stock and salt and bring
to a boil. Quickly place in a baking dish and cover. Bake until barley
is tender and stock is absorbed, about 45 minutes. Let stand covered for
at least 10 minutes.

The Lentils

For 160:

6 2/3 pounds lentils

3 1/3 gallons water

6 2/3 onions, peeled and halved

6 2/3 whole garlic cloves, peeled

6 2/3 whole bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

For 8:

1/2 pound lentils

1 quart water

1/2 onion, peeled and halved

1/2 whole garlic clove, peeled

1/2 whole bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste

While barley is baking, wash and pick over lentils. Combine lentils
with 8 cups water, whole onion, garlic clove and bay leaf in a large pan.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, uncovered, until lentils
are tender, 20-30 minutes. Drain and let cool. Remove the onion, garlic,
and bay leaf.

Putting it all together:

Combine barley and lentils, mixing well. Season with salt and pepper
to taste. Serve warm or room temperature.

Lentils cooked during Platina's time were very likely boiled similarly
today's practices. In his manuscript, Platina mentions throwing away the
initial cooking water and adding vinegar and spices to the second cooking
water. It may be that the lentils were actually cooked twice, but some
scholars believe the first cooking mimics the initial soaking that modern
cookbooks recommend. Platina recommends adding barley meal to the lentils
to improve their nutritional value, a common practice for broths throughout
his cookbook.

About the dish:

This dish is a constructed one. Rather than adding barley meal to
the cooking water, we have chosen to add actual pearled barley to the dish
because, as Platina states, "Barley is the noblest of grains." We
cooked the meal using the method detailed above for three reasons: we had
a plethora of ovens available at the original feast site, baked barley
results in a nicely dry and fluffy product without burning, and barley
cooked on the stovetop often burns despite careful tending. We also chose
to cook the barley with broth to increase the flavor of this dish.

Advance cooking:

Lentils can easily be cooked up to 6 months in advance of the feast
and frozen. Although we have successfully cooked barley many months in
advance of feasts, we do not usually recommend the practice as we believe
the texture of the barley suffers slightly from the freezing (we prefer
our barley chewier than most people). We suggest precooking the barley
no more than one week in advance for the best texture.

Alternative cooking methods:

You can speed the cooking of both lentils and barley by using a pressure
cooker. Follow the directions from your cooker's manufacturer for best
results. Lentils can also be cooked in a crock pot, though they usually
need a bit less water than what would normally be used for the stovetop
method. Again, consult instructions that came with your appliance.

Gaylin Walli is a technical writer and editor for a multinational
software company. She spends the vast majority of her personal time researching
things because her friends (and people throughout the known world) torture
her with comments like
"Do you know anything about..."